Pakistanis use Facebook to kidnap Malaysians

KUALA LUMPUR - A spate of criminal activities in the city over the past two months led the police to nab several foreigners who allegedly kidnapped local men they befriended on Facebook.

At the same time, the city police have stepped up their hunt for two couples, one connected to an armed robbery at a club and the other accused of jumping bail after duping a real estate agent.

City CID chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Ku Chin Wah said several Pakistani men had allegedly used the Facebook social network site to invite gullible young men to be their friends. Next, they would meet up with their prospective prey and invite them to their house. The young men would then be held captive and the abductors would demand a ransom from their families for the victims' release.

SAC Ku said there were three such cases reported over the past month, all involving young men who have a "certain hobby" or "inclination". He declined to elaborate.

"They (the kidnappers) were not asking for huge amounts of ransom. They mainly looked for easy prey," said SAC Ku, adding that a school deputy principal in his 40s was released after a RM5,000 (S$1,936) ransom was paid by his family for his release on Nov 17.

He said four Pakistan nationals, aged between 30 and 40, were nabbed over the incident on Monday. Two were nabbed in Jalan Maarof, Bangsar, and the other in Jalan Ketumbar, Cheras.

He said the men, aged between 30 and 40, had been staying illegally in Malaysia after their visit passes expired.

Two similar incidents were later uncovered following police investigations of the case, SAC Ku told a press conference here yesterday.

In an unrelated case, the police are looking for a pair believed to be linked to a robbery at a club in Bukit Bintang on Nov 28.

SAC Ku named the pair as Choi Mui Ling, 27, and Chang Sin Wah, 37.

In the 3.30am incident, a group of men marched into the club with wooden stakes, knives and bottles and assaulted several people at the club before escaping with cash and watches worth more than RM3,000.

SAC Ku said the police were also hunting down a couple who jumped bail after appearing in court on charges of robbing a real estate agent of RM70,000 in cash and valuables while pretending to be interested to buy an apartment unit at Mont Kiara Palma here.

An arrest warrant was issued on Oct 23 for Wong Wai Kit and How Sow Kim, both 34, who were nabbed in 2012 and charged in a Sessions Court for the alleged offence against the real estate agent.